Frank Lampard insists that he will be in charge at Chelsea but also wants the power of the player at Stamford Bridge

AThe managers of Chelsea came and went, but the club's endless success in the 21st century continued. The question at Stamford Bridge was often who exactly ran the place: the men who chose the team or group of senior players that were so important to him?

Frank Lampard, Chelsea's new manager, has played under eight coaches, including temporary spells of Guus Hiddink and Rafael Benitez, and has often been cited as a key figure in the players' great decade of power.

Andre Villas-Boas tried to drop him and concluded that the Chelsea midfielder career lasted longer than the manager's, but throughout Lampard's career he was careful never to exaggerate his hand. public, nor to engage in harmful enmity.

As a leader, could he tell once and for all if the power of the player dominated the day in Chelsea? "No," he replied sitting in the meeting room at Stamford Bridge this week. "We had a solid locker room that was part of the success."

It also has a short answer for any player who thinks he can get around the manager and go straight to the owner, Roman Abramovich. "They will not do it," he said. "We have certainly never done it.